Life Through A Glass Enclosure
by LadieTAG
Summary: A long story write off story about Mystik Spiral.  Just what happened to their fifth member?
1. Chapter 1

Life Through A Glass Enclosure Part 1

June 2007

Ten-thirty in the morning was always a slow time of the day on the Toll Road between Lawndale and Swedesville. Curtis looked down at his watch and yawned. Working as a toll booth collector for the Maryland Department of Transportation may not be the most glamorous job, but it allowed him to have a sit down job that required little effort. With it being a state job, the benefits were really good. He made enough to pay his bills, keep plenty of food on his table, and his retirement fund healthy. Not a bad gig for a guy who grew up in Lawndale.

Deciding that it would not be in his best interest to fall asleep on the job, Curtis decided to catch up on his reading. Grabbing the local paper, he flipped to the Entertainment Section. There on the front page was local celebrities Mystik Spiral after they announced that they would be starting their second world tour in their home town. After several years of struggling to make a name for themselves, they were finally on their way. Curtis crumpled up the paper in disgust as he thought about what could have been.

Lawndale, Maryland 1992

Jessie and Trent were sitting on the steps of Lawndale High strumming their guitars. It was a rare Tuesday that neither of them had detention, but they missed the bus so they had to wait for Amanda to come and give them a ride home. Soon, they began to work on their rhythm and soon the sounds of "L.A. Woman" started to become clearer. A few minutes later, the main doors opened behind them. A couple of seniors started to walk past the two sophomores until they listened to Trent and Jessie play. One of them - a tall, skinny, blonde guy ran over to a big, black van and opened the back, pulling out a worn-down but acoustically sound Martin. The shorter one, sat down his books and arranged them in a pattern on the steps. Holding two pencils like drum sticks, he began to follow suit. Soon, the four of them were playing "Light My Fire" and "Hello, I Love You". Trent was having such a good time, he didn't even realize that it was almost five and his mother still hadn't shown up. The shorter senior looked at his watch and began to gather his notebooks.

****t - it's almost five and I have to be at work in a half an hour. You two are pretty good - we should jam for real next time. The name's Max Tyler and the silent one over there is Nick Campbell. I have a kit, but I'm not allowed to play it at home. My neighbors are assholes."

"I'm Trent Lane and he's Jessie Moreno. I have a makeshift studio in my basement and our neighbors stay away from us."

"Sweet - Why don't we meet here tomorrow morning and we'll go from there," Nick said.

"Cool," Jessie replied.

Max and Nick headed towards the van as Trent and Jessie put their guitars back in their cases. They began to walk towards Casa Lane talking about the potential of starting their own band. Once inside, the two went down to the basement and decided they better finish getting it ready for their possible musical endeavor. They began to arrange their speakers and microphones and checked to make sure all the wall outlets worked. After their tasks were complete, they studied the area and nodded their heads in agreement. The two left the basement and headed for Trent's room to resume their practicing.

The next morning, Trent and Jessie waited for the two seniors to show up. With about ten minutes before the bell rang, they heard the van pull into the Student Parking Lot. Max and Nick stepped out and headed towards them. The four of them quickly decided to go straight from school over to Trent's house. For once, Trent and Jessie actually focused in class so that they would not receive detention. All the two could talk about at lunch was the jam session that was planned for that afternoon. When the final bell rang, Trent and Jessie followed Max and Nick to the van and they drove to Trent's house. The four teenagers walked into the house and were almost ran over by a ten-year-old wearing a red t-shirt, black shorts, and sneakers.

"Excuse me, going out for a run. See you later Trent, hi Jessie - bye Jessie," the girl said as she opened the door.

"Be careful, Janey." Trent watched his little sister leave.

Trent led the others to the basement. Max looked around and instantly approved. He asked Jessie if he could help him get his drums out of the van. A half an hour later, everything was in place and they were ready to play. They decided to stick with Doors covers until they got used to playing together. Three hours, they were able to get through four songs. Despite the several restarts and frustrated grumbles, the four decided to get together that Saturday.

Weeks passed and soon the four of them could get through several Doors songs. They even came up with a band name, Mystik Spiral. Despite the fact that they were improving, they felt as though something was missing. One afternoon while down in the basement, they found out what it was. Jane had been sitting on the couch listening to her big brother, his best friend, and the two other guys play. Jane sat silently and began to draw a picture of loose tornado. When they finished the last chords of "People Are Strange", Jane put down her sketchpad.

"You need a keyboardist. I like that song, but it doesnt sound right without the freaky piano," Jane said staring at Trent.

The four teenagers looked at each other as if they had been collectively hit by a bolt of lightning. That's the missing link. The next day, Trent went up to the editor of the school newspaper and placed an ad for a keyboardist. The afternoon after the Lawndale Lowdown had been distributed to the homerooms, Trent and Jessie were eating lunch when a fellow sophomore approached them.

"I just read your ad and I was wondering when try-outs were going to be."

"Umm, we haven't really thought about that. Why - are you interested?" Trent asked.

"Yeah - I haven't played in a band or anything before, but I've been playing the piano and keyboard for over five years," the boy said.

Trent eyes widened. "Five years - who needs try-outs. Let me talk to Max and Nick after school. I'm sure they won't have a problem with you joining us," Trent stared at the boy for a few more minutes. "Hey - aren't we in Mr. O'Neill's class together?"

"Yeah and Mr. DeMartino's class. I'm Curtis -Curtis Stalano."

When school was over, Trent and Jessie introduced Curtis to Max and Nick. Max was hesitant at first. Curtis looked too preppy to be in a band. Nick decided that he wanted to hear him play before giving any kind of approval. Trent gave Curtis directions to his house and his phone number. Curtis arrived Saturday afternoon and set-up his Yamaha PSR-300 keyboard. Nick asked him to play the piano part to "People Are Strange". Curtis asked if he could hear the song. Trent went upstairs and brought back his cd player. Curtis listened intently to the song and right after it ended, he proceeded to play. The four sat in amazement as Curtis nailed every note as though he had been performing that song for years. About halfway through, they had him stop and start over from the beginning so that they could join him.

Soon, the basement was filled with a sounds of a much smoother sounding cover of the song. When they finished playing, Trent asked Curtis to sit on the couch so that the rest of the band could talk. Curtis looked down at the floor, nervously awaiting the band's decision. A few moments later, all four heads nodded in agreement. Trent walked over to Curtis and stuck out his hand.

"Welcome to Mystik Spiral," Trent smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

You know there is a major wrench coming. This one is a blast from the past and comes from march madness challenge from 2010 (Shoutout to QW) but all switched up for your enjoyment...actually my enjoyment but hey who counting.

I need you to have all these things in your next story

1. A Strawberry  
>2. the number 513 (I think you are familiar with that number's meaning)<br>3. A Dollar bill  
>4. A Break-Up<br>5. A Make-up  
>6. Helpful Corn<br>7. The line "You sounded a little flat there"  
>8. The line "Play Freebird"<br>9. This rule: The City of Boston needs to play a role in your story.  
>10. A baseball bat<p>**

Behind The Glass Enclosure (Part 2)

** ****

**June 2007**

Curtis sighed as he stared at his watch. _Great - its 5:13 and Josh still isnt here yet. Where is that damn moron - some of us want to drink our day away. _A few minutes later, there was a call through his phone. His boss told him to activate his Lane Closed sign and come into the main booth. Flipping up the switch, Curtis counted down his til to fifty bucks and put the rest in an envelope and sent it through the chute. He then walked across his lane to the tiny office attached to the side of the road. His boss, Charlotte, turned towards him as he entered.

Josh called in for tonight, so we will just have to run an operator short. Oh, you were a dollar short, Charlotte said.

Curtis pulled out an old wadded up dollar bill. He stared at the 1993 Washington in his hand for a moment. _It was the best of years, it was the worst of years. _He handed the bill to Charlotte, told her goodbye, and headed for the tiny employee parking area. As he drove his bike back towards Lawndale, he looked up to see the Giant Strawberry. He tried to focus on the road, but his mind drifted back to another time.

**

March 1993

**

The members of Mystik Spiral were gathered in Trents basement. Since Curtis had joined, the number of gigs that had been booked for the band had greatly increased. The teenagers didnt know how to react. They were only sixteen years old, but they were already generating a buzz.


	3. End

Life Through A Glass Enclosure (End)

June 2007 - New York

While Curtis Stalano was in Lawndale setting the article about his former band aflame, little did he know that the band itself was on the brink of imploding. Jesse had started dating Monique and the tensions from it between he and Trent had been mounting over the past six months. As they sat in the studio, getting ready to record the last song for their next cd, Jesse made the comment that Trent's song idea "Late Night Matinee" needed a piano or keyboard added to it. The other members of the group agreed and Trent conceded to allow a keyboard to be added to the song. Jesse mentioned that Monique played keyboard and felt that she would be the perfect person to play the song. This led to a very heated argument between the lead singer and the lead guitarist. The discussion was quickly stopped when Jane's voice filled the room.

"Quit yelling at each other and get your asses in here NOW!"

Jesse and Trent left the studio and walked into the recording booth. Jane was leaning against the mixer with flames in her eyes and rubbing her seven and a half month pregnant belly. Jesse and Trent both braced themselves for the upcoming rant.

"We don't have time for any petty arguments between you two. The record company wanted this cd finished two weeks ago. HELL, I just want this cd finished before this kid is born! I REPEAT WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT! What the hell are you two arguing about now?" Jane had started tapping her foot.

"Jesse wants Monique to play keyboard on "Late Night Matinee". I don't want her anywhere near the band," Trent growled.

Jane rubbed the bridge of her nose. "That song would sound better with a keyboard in it. Call her up - if she sounds good we'll use it. If she doesn't, well we'll just have to scramble like hell to figure something out."

Jesse grabbed his cell phone and gave Monique a call. Monique arrived an hour later and refused to look at Trent, but wrapping her arms around Jesse just to rub salt on the wound. She sat in the recording booth as Jane played back the song. Monique nodded and said she would come back the next day with some ideas. Monique arrived the next day and listened to the song several times while writing notes down on the blank sheet music. After a couple of hours, Monique stepped into the sound studio. The rest of the band sat in the recording booth with Jane and listened to what Monique played. Jane, Max, and Nick cringed as Monique went into an organ solo that sounded like it belonged in a horror movie. Jesse was bobbing his head up and down while Trent was so disgusted, he tried to leave the room. Jane grabbed his arm and stopped him. A few minutes later, Jane called into the studio and told Monique to stop playing.

"I think we would be better off recording the sounds of a cat throwing up instead of including that solo in the song," Jane said.

"I thought it sounded pretty good," Jesse replied only to get disgusted looks from the rest of the band.

"Jesse, I know Monique your girlfriend and all, but Madison would have sounded better and she's six," Nick said.

That comment led to another round of arguments, which was stopped when Jane slammed her hand against the table beside.

"Everyone shut the hell up! Jesse - Monique is OUT. I still like the idea of a keyboard in the song, but your reputation in this town for driving away keyboardists is legendary. Hell, you haven't had a decent keyboardist working with you guys since Curtis Stalano! Wait - that just gave me an idea. Trent, didn't we see him when I was in high school - where was that?" Jane asked.

Trent stared at his little sister for a moment, and then his eyes widened in remembrance. "Yeah, we did on our way to Alternapalooza. He was working in a toll booth. I wonder if he still is," Trent rubbed his goatee.

Jane turned on her computer. After a quick search of Facebook, Twitter, and a couple of other sites, she came up with nothing. Then she snapped her fingers and picked up her cell phone.

"Morgendorffer Detective and Bond Agency, Jake speaking. How can we help you today?"

"Hiya Mr. M,"

"Hiya Jane-O! How are you? Are you heading for the hospital? Do I need to call Daria? She's on her way to pick up someone who skipped out on their court date-"

"No Mr. M, I am fine. I still have about two months left. Actually, I have a job for you guys. I need you to find a gentleman by the name of Curtis Stalano. He went to Lawndale High with Trent. The last time we saw him, he was working in a toll booth between Lawndale and Swedesville. Do you think you can give us a hand with that?"

"Sure thing, give me a couple of hours and I'll call you back."

"Thanks, and if you talk to Daria - tell her to be careful. I need her alive if she's going to be a godmother," Jane said as she closed her phone.

Jesse left the recording booth to go tell Monique that she wasn't going to be used in the song. The rest of the band listened as Monique began to rant and rave about how much better Jesse would be if he wasn't with such a band of losers and that she and him should start their own band. Jesse tried to calm her down which resulted in him getting a slapped face and a door slammed in front of him. They watched as he glared at the recording booth before storming out of the studio. About two hours later, Jane's cell phone rang. She wrote down the information Jake gave give her. Jane shooed everyone out of the studio and called Mack to let him know she was going to Lawndale with the band. A few minutes later, they were off.

They arrived in Lawndale a little after eight o'clock that night. Listening to the GPS as it gave them directions, the band arrived at their destination ten minutes later. The tiny house had a motorcycle sitting in the driveway. Jane all but yanked the members of the band out of her Jeep and pushed them towards the door. The group stood there, uncertain of what to say or do until Jane grapped Trent's hand and made him knock on the door.

Curtis scratched the side of his head when he heard the knock on the door. Debating on whether or not to answer, he got off his couch and walked through the living room. He almost fell backwards when he looked through the peephole and saw the members of Mystik Spiral standing nervously on his porch. Cautiously, he opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"Umm, hi Curtis," Trent said, his calm voice hiding his apprehension.

"Well, if it isn't Mystik Spiral - if you've come here to apologize, you're about fourteen years too late," Curtis growled.

"You're right - we should have handled that a lot better than we did. Can we come in and talk?" Trent asked.

Curtis stood there for a moment, contemplating slamming the door in the faces of his former band, but at the last moment a what-if struck him. What if they have come to apologize? What if they want to make it right? Could I even accept it? I should at least find out what they want. Curtis moved to the side and invited them in. After Max walked in with his head down, Jane went to close the door. Trent looked at her in confusion.

"You guys work this out - call me when you're done. I'll be at the Morgendorffers. It's lasagna night and I have been having weird cravings for pasta," Jane said. She then turned around, got in her Jeep, and sped off.

The five guys stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Trent started rubbing the back of his neck. The room was silent until Max drew a long breath and spoke.

"Curtis, I shouldn't have busted your keyboard. I had a lot of anger issues back when we were in school. I had to go through years of counseling to fix it. I know that isn't an excuse, but I am still sorry. I just wish I had been able to say it back then."

Curtis could see in Max's eyes that the apology was sincere and that he was looking for forgiveness. He could hear Kathy's voice in his head. "If I can accept your apologies and short comings, you should be able to, too." Curtis stuck out his hand. "Apology accepted. I read that you will be starting a new tour soon. Maybe as a letting by-gones be by-gones gift, you can get me and my girlfriend backstage on your opening night."

"How about we do you one better. We can't start our fan appreciation tour until we finish our next cd. We are down to our last track. It could really use a good keyboard for a richer tone. We tried another keyboardist, but her sound just didn't blend. Then Janey suggested we find you because you were the best keyboardist we've ever worked with," Trent said.

"What's in it for me?" Curtis asked.

"We'll pay off your bike and if you sound ggod, we'll make you the permanent fifth member," Trent said. The rest of the band nodded in agreement.

The gears in Curtis's head started spinning. Just hours ago, he wished nothing but bad luck and pestilance on his former band, now he is thinking about dropping everything for them to be on their next cd. Then, he started thinking about work. He liked his job, but his heart had always belonged to music. He even taught music to get himself through community college without needing loans. But the more he thought about the glass enclosure he was trapped inside everyday - rain or shine, storm or snow,eight hours a day, six days a week with people yelling at him and throwing money at him, the more he wanted out of it. True he would be in another glass enclosure, but this one would allow his musical talent to be utilized and appreciated. As he continued to think, Curtis heard Trent trying to get his attention.

"So - what do you think?" Trent asked.

"I think we have a deal, as long as I can get what you just said in writing. I also need to call my boss and girlfriend. If you will excuse me, this might take a while. I'll bring out some beers. The Celtics and Lakers are just about to start if you want to watch that," Curtis said as he headed for his kitchen.

He brought out two six packs and passed them around before going into another room to make the calls. Charlotte said she would scramble around the schedule until he knew for sure that he was an official member. For the moment, she listed it as a temporary leave of abscence. He thanked her for being a great boss and they wished each other well before hanging up. Kathy was shocked and excited for Curtis. She loved hearing his music and was glad to see he was getting a chance for it to be heard. He went back into the living room and saw Trent on the phone with Jane. Trent told him that she was on her way to pick them up, and to be ready to head to New York by eight a.m. Curtis asked if Kathy could join them and Trent agreed. Jane pulled up a few minutes later and soon they were headed to what was still Casa Lane, since Penny lived there now.

The next morning, Curtis and Kathy followed Jane and Mystik Spiral back to their apartments in the big city. They would be staying at Jane and Mack's that evening. Curtis asked if he could listen to the song they wanted him to add the keyboard to. So he stayed up until three a.m. listening to "Late Night Matinee" and making notes. After a few presious hours of sleep, Curtis was ready to get into the studio. Kathy, Jane and the rest of the band sat in the recording while Curtis continued to listen and write down notes. Around one in the afternoon, Curtis signaled that he was ready to add the keyboard part. Jane gave the signal and soon, the notes were silent on paper, came flowing out of the Piagerro NP-V60. The music started out as a basic melody, but progressed into a haunting and complex piece.

Curtis stared at the glass enclosure around him. Here, he was seventeen again and ready to take on the world. As he played, Kathy seemed to ready to burst with joy, while the band sat in silence and a wily grin came over Jane's face. There were a couple of times he asked if he could redo a section. Jane immediately pressed rewind and let him make any corrections he felt were needed. Three hours later, "Late Night Matinee" was ready to be added as the last song to the cd. He watched as Kathy left the recording and headed for the sound stage. Wrapping her arms around him, informed him that they wanted to talk about what they had just heard. Several minutes later, there was a knock on the sound rooms glass and Jane signaled them to join her and the band.

Once inside, Trent sat them down and told Curtis that they had voted to make him the fifth member of Spiral. Jane was already on the phone with the band's lawyer so that contracts could be made up. He then offered to take the band out to celebrate. As they were leaving the studio, Monique arrived. Before she could put her arms around Jesse, Curtis spoke.

"Hey Monique - Where's Danny? He's not with you today?"

Monique looked like a deer trapped in the headlights, but quickly recovered. "I don't know who you're talking about!"

"Remember a couple of nights ago - Kathy and I ran into you and Danny at the Zon," Curtis flipped up his cell phone and pulled up the picture of Kathy, himself, Monique, and Danny at the Zon. Monique had her arms around Danny, giving him a kiss.

Jesse stood in stunned silence - his face a mixture of anger and betrayal. Trent moved beside his best friend to hold him back if need be. Soon, words were exchanged and things got heated. By the time it was said and done, Monique slapped Jesse and Curtis in the face before storming off. Trent and Jane led Jesse back into the studio so he could calm down. Curtis apologized, but Jesse waved it off. Curtis was not the one he was mad at, it was that cheating bitch he wanted to get the hell away from. About an hour later, Jesse had composed himself and the group went out. Several hours later, they were all at Jane and Mack's place watching a movie when there was a knock on the door. Jane swung the door open and wrapped her best friend in a warm embrace.

"You're gonna crush me you realize that don't you? Sorry I missed you last night, but work's been busy. My mother wanted me to bring this to you," Daria lifted the envelope. "Actually, she knew I was upset that I missed your visit and this was how she talked my dad into giving me the rest of today and tomorrow off. Hi Jesse, Max, Nick, Trent, some dude and woman I don't know," Daria waved and smiled.

"Daria meet the old yet newest member of Mystik Spiral Curtis and his girlfriend Kathy," Jane smirked as Daria waved.

Daria looked over at the group more closely and could tell that Jesse seemed very upset. Daria walked up to him.

"Hey Jesse, is everything okay?"

"I found out earlier that Monique was cheating on me with my younger brother. Why can't I find someone decent?" Jesse said in a dejected voice.

Daria bent over and gave the musician a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. "You're a sweet guy, Jesse. I hope that someday you find that someone, too," Daria stood up, "I was going to ask you if I could crash here, but it looks like the inn is full. I better go find a hotel - see you tomorrow," Daria said as she headed for the door.

Jesse quickly stood up "I have an extra room at my place, if you don't mind the scent of boysencranstraw candles."

"I can't smell anything since that bail jumper broke my nose last year," Daria laughed. The two looked at each other for a moment as they both gave a slight blush. "You know, I think I'll take you up on that offer."

Jesse smiled as he took Daria's hand and escorted her out the door.

End


End file.
